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Kathmandu, Dec 30 Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) is finally set to bring back one of its engines stranded in Israel for two years, after an Israeli aerospace company agreed to compensate about Rs 130 million for the grounding of the airline’s narrow-body aircraft. The aircraft, “Lumbini,” had been grounded for months due to delayed engine repairs, forcing NAC to operate with a leased engine and incur heavy daily costs.

The saga began in August 2023, when NAC signed a contract with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the repair of both engines of the Lumbini aircraft. The agreement included a leased replacement engine while the originals were under maintenance. The repair was supposed to take just over two months, but bureaucratic delays and mismanagement extended the process to more than 28 months. One engine remains stuck in Israel even after nine months of completion, forcing NAC to pay daily leasing charges of nearly Rs 800,000.

The Israeli firm has agreed to offset $90,000 (about Rs 130 million) as compensation for the grounding period, including waived lease fees and interest, allowing NAC to retrieve its engine. NAC will pay roughly $270,000 (about Rs 390 million) for the completed repairs. Executive Director Amritman Shrestha emphasized that negotiations aimed to resolve payments without penalties and under mutual trust, given the complications with delayed engine delivery and outstanding lease charges totaling $360,000 (around Rs 520 million).

The Lumbini aircraft left for Israel via Dubai on Monday to exchange the repaired engine. NAC engineers will inspect the engine on-site before bringing it back. This step comes after Prime Minister Sushila Karki took personal interest in the stalled project and appointed Shrestha to expedite the process.

People’s News Monitoring Service